Indonesia Passes Criminal Code Banning Sex Outside Marriage

The controversial new laws also criminalises criticising the president or state institutions and expressing views counter to state ideology.

Human rights activists hold a demonstration at the front parliament building against new criminal code in Jakarta

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New Delhi: Indonesia approved a criminal code on Tuesday that forbids sex outside of marriage and carries a penalty of up to one year in prison, as part of a slew of legislative reforms that critics claim undermine civil liberties in the world's third-largest democracy.

The controversial new laws also criminalises criticising the president or state institutions and expressing views counter to state ideology. These laws are subjected to both Indonesian citizens and visitors alike. 

The lawmakers praised the passage of the criminal code that the nation has been discussing revising since declaring independence from the Dutch, the news agency Reuters reported.

"The old code belongs to Dutch heritage... and is no longer relevant now," Bambang Wuryanto, head of the parliamentary commission in charge of revising the code told lawmakers.

“We have tried our best to accommodate the important issues and different opinions which were debated. However, it is time for us to make a historical decision on the penal code amendment and to leave the colonial criminal code we inherited behind,” Yasonna Laoly, minister of law and human rights, told parliament, the news agency AFP reported.

The approval, according to Reuters, comes despite warnings from business groups that it would damage Indonesia's reputation as a tourist and investment destination.

Rights groups had protested against the amendments, denouncing a crackdown on civil liberties and a shift toward religious fundamentalism.

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, has seen a rise in religious conservatism in recent years with legal experts suggesting the new laws around morality, and a separate article on customary law will reinforce discriminatory and sharia-inspired bylaws at the local level.

The bill's opponents have highlighted articles they claim are socially backward, would restrict free speech, and will be a "major setback" in preserving democratic liberties following the fall of authoritarian leader Suharto in 1998.

(With inputs from agencies)